Brijesh Kotecha, aged 31, who was charged with five theft offences, pleaded not guilty in April, but when he appeared for trial at Northampton Crown Court yesterday, he pleaded guilty to theft of a total of £1,260.

Stuart Yeung, prosecuting, said Kotecha, of Harvard Close, Oadby, near Leicester, claimed to have collected the money and then handed over the payments to his manager.

Mr Yeung said: "This involves a breach of trust by the defendant who worked for Northampton Borough Council collecting rent arrears, on a temporary contract between April and July 2007, when he was dismissed.

"He collected money from five tenants and it was not lodged in the appropriate manner.

"Arrested in August 2007, he admitted taking the money and issuing receipts and thereafter, he said he gave it to his manager, who he accused of prejudice."

However, Kotecha pleaded guilty to repeated thefts shortly before a jury was to hear the case. He was given a suspended prison sentence and three months to repay all the stolen money.

Judge Richard Bray said: "I have to sentence you for stealing sums of money, by way of rent arrears for the council which you collected from ordinary people.

"This was a mean offence which could have caused considerable distress to those paying over the money, as they thought it, to the borough council. It is also a serious breach of trust. There must be a custodial sentence to reflect these matters, however I am able to suspend it."

Sentenced to 45-weeks' imprisonment, suspended for two years, with £500 costs, Kotecha was ordered to pay £1,260 compensation by the start of next year and remain living in Leicester.

The court heard how he had been arrested and questioned in May 2006 on similar allegations, but never convicted.

While collecting rents for the Riverside Housing Association in Leicester between August 2006 and May 2006, he was suspected of theft but left to start his temporary role in Northampton.

Andrew Jackson, mitigating, said: "He is asking to be sentenced today so he can put the matter behind him as swiftly as possible and move on from whatever events were occurring in early 2007."

A borough council spokesman said: "As soon as it became apparent something was amiss, we worked with the agency which employed him, and the police, to bring about a successful prosecution."